The experience of being on a show that is very much in the center of popular culture is exciting. You really feel like you're reaching people.

An artist's job is simply to take the mirror in front of your face and hold it there. It's not to give you any answers. It is simply to take that mirror and point it at you.

I'm not really a food connoisseur.

Actually I'm more culturally Muslim than religiously but being Muslim is an important part of my identity. As Muslim, I feel it's important to counter any form of bigotry, be it anti-Semitism, homophobia, racism, etc. These forms of hate share a common denominator of misinformation and intentional fear mongering.

When you're brown and Indian, you get offered a lot of doctor roles.

I'm Muslim the way many of my Jewish friends are Jewish: I avoid pork, and I take the big holidays off.

This was in the '70s and there was a lot of racism towards South Asians and there was a lot of hazing and bullying and racism that really probably shaped me in some way in terms of, like, wanting to get out of there.